Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Trims Position in Align Technology, Inc. $ALGN

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund cut its holdings in shares of Align Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:ALGN) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,608 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Align Technology were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALGN. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 58.7% during the first quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 1,937,555 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $307,800,000 after buying an additional 716,954 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 510.3% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 707,514 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $112,396,000 after buying an additional 591,588 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 4,217.3% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 426,205 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $67,707,000 after buying an additional 416,333 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 77.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 460,028 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $95,920,000 after buying an additional 200,492 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of Align Technology by 333.4% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 256,492 shares of the medical equipment provider’s stock valued at $40,746,000 after buying an additional 197,317 shares during the period. 88.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALGN shares. HSBC cut Align Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $290.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Align Technology from $275.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. UBS Group reduced their price target on Align Technology from $240.00 to $215.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $154.00 price target (down from $249.00) on shares of Align Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho set a $210.00 price target on Align Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Align Technology Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALGN opened at $142.43 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.02, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.61. Align Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $127.70 and a 1 year high of $262.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $179.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.98.

Align Technology (NASDAQ:ALGN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The medical equipment provider reported $2.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.57 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. Align Technology had a net margin of 11.04% and a return on equity of 13.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Align Technology, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Align Technology announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 6th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the medical equipment provider to reacquire up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Align Technology news, CEO Joseph M. Hogan purchased 7,576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $131.49 per share, with a total value of $996,168.24. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 184,945 shares in the company, valued at $24,318,418.05. This trade represents a 4.27% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.66% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Align Technology Profile

Align Technology, Inc designs, manufactures, and markets Invisalign clear aligners, and iTero intraoral scanners and services for orthodontists and general practitioner dentists in the United States, Switzerland, and internationally. The company's Clear Aligner segment offers comprehensive products, including Invisalign comprehensive package that addresses the orthodontic needs of younger patients, such as mandibular advancement, compliance indicators, and compensation for tooth eruption; and Invisalign First Phase I and Invisalign First Comprehensive Phase 2 package for younger patients generally between the ages of six and ten years, which is a mixture of primary/baby and permanent teeth.